Two South Carolina organizations have launched an investment fund to boost healthcare innovation in the state. The Clemson University Division of Research and the Health Sciences Center (HSC) at Prisma Health recently signed agreements to fund up to $200,000 per year in grants through a new Innovation Maturation Fund.
Prisma Health, the largest nonprofit health organization in South Carolina, was created in 2017 by the merger of Palmetto Health and Greenville Health System.
The new fund provides healthcare-focused grants intended to advance the development and implementation of new medical initiatives, advance translational science, create job and educational opportunities, improve healthcare and drive economic growth in the region. The fund will be managed by the Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF), which manages the process of moving Clemson’s innovative technologies from the laboratory into commercial markets. CURF has awarded more than $870,000 in maturation funds to Clemson researchers across academic disciplines since the launch of a similar fund in 2014. Those funds have led to startup companies, new technologies available for license and follow-on research investments.
The healthcare-focused grants are intended to advance the development and implementation of new medical initiatives, advance translational science, create job and educational opportunities, improve health care and drive economic growth in the region.
Prisma Health clinicians, Clemson research faculty and graduate students are eligible for grant funds.
“Pairing Clemson University’s health research and bioengineering capabilities with Prisma Health’s industry-leading clinical environment provides an incredible opportunity for the development of medical technologies and initiatives that will improve health care for South Carolinians and many others,” said Tanju Karanfil, Clemson University vice president for research, in a statement. “I am excited to see the ideas and impactful innovations that stem from this partnership.”
